Hotel spa revenues fall behind guest rooms

Spa services offered by hotels appear to have fallen victim to the global recession as more budget-conscious guests choose to save rather than splash out on pampering themselves. Hot stone massages and herbal wraps have been put on hold, for now. A new report by PKF Consulting finds that hotel spas suffered deeper declines in revenues than hotels’ own RevPAR-measured accommodation services, which began to recover at the end of 2010. Before the recession, hotel spas and RevPAR had comparable revenues. Revenues from resort hotel spas have fallen much faster than spas in urban hotels. PKF suggests that this is partly because big metropolitan hotel markets have recovered faster than resort locations, and also because urban spas often attract greater numbers of local clients.The biggest revenue falls were registered in “mid-sized” spas with 10 to 20 treatment rooms. These are often “caught in between offering the intimate experience of a small operation and the grand showcase facility frequently found in a large hotel or resort,” according to PKF.New Mexico Business Weekly[pictured: Sukko Spa in Sukko Cultural Spa & Wellness Resort; courtesy Tourism Authority of Thailand]